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At one point in NBA history Carmelo Anthony was one of the biggest names in the NBA. Teams were fighting over trades to get the superstar and other stars wanted to have him on their team. Things can change when teams start to lose. Carmelo Anthony might be one of the most underrated players in the NBA. One thing is for certain, Anthony has a legacy and most fans would say he was one of the better players to ever play the game of basketball. Anthony is the United States National Baskettball team’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He also has the most games played for the stars and stripes. Needless to say, if Anthony called it a career today he would go down as a great player. Luckily for us he is not retiring today.
A lot has been made of the Carmelo Anthony situation with the New York Knicks going into the 2017 season. The big question is wether Anthony will remain a Knick or get traded? The leading team to acquire his services is the Houston Rockets. This would be a reunite Anthony and his former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. In case you do not remember that relationship, they did not seem to work well together in New York. Maybe things have changed between the two men. D’Antoni has found success in Houston and clearly Anthony is looking to win a championship. Maybe this is the recipe for success for both men. No matter where Melo ends up he will be a major asset to the team.
Looking at last season, Anthony’s numbers are spot on with the rest of his career. With that being said they would probably improved if he was on a team that had some real weapons. For instance, Carmelo Anthony was the focal point of the Knicks offense in 2016. There were other players that the Knicks built the offense around like Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis, and even Willy Hernangomez. Not one of those players had the impact on the roster like Anthony. According to Pro Basketball Reference, while playing 74 out of the 82 regular season games, Anthony averaged 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. Most NBA teams would take those numbers from any player. In fact, Anthony ranked 22nd in scoring during the 2016 season. His average was tied with Kyrie Irving. How come the Knicks cannot seem to get any talent for a player with similar numbers?
Not only did Anthony have solid numbers in 2016, he was on par with the rest of his career. Over his entire career Melo has averaged 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists. His 2016 numbers were slightly down, but this may have been one of the worst teams that Anthony has ever played on. Going into his age 33 season there is still a lot left in the tank for Melo to contribute to whatever team he ends up playing for next season. The Knicks should not just give up their star so easily even though the rest of the league has seemed to forget just how great of a player Carmelo Anthony really is.